Extract text from Windows resource scripts (RC)
To convert RC scripts to another format, you need Microsoft Visual Studio or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Resource Script File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Visual Studio or a similar tool.
The .RC file format primarily functions as a Windows Resource Script. Used extensively by developers working with Microsoft Visual Studio and the Windows SDK, these files contain plain text instructions that map application assets (like icons, dialog boxes, menus, and string tables) to a C++ program. Alternatively, in the Android ecosystem, .rc files act as system initialization scripts that configure services during device boot.
Opening an .RC file usually requires a heavy Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Microsoft Visual C++ or Embarcadero C++Builder. Wikipedia: Resource (Windows) provides deeper context on how these scripts link to executables.
Working with .RC files outside of a developer environment is difficult. Because they are often encoded in UTF-16 (LE) or contain complex relative paths to local system assets, non-developers cannot easily parse or utilize them. Furthermore, browsers cannot render them natively, and without a compiler, the file is functionally useless to an end-user trying to extract the actual images or UI elements referenced within the script.
To make the script readable across any platform, convert .RC to TXT or XML. If you are a developer looking to prepare assets for a linker, the target format is a compiled binary RES file. Drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing heavy development software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your RC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted RCFILE1, RCMR, RES, RCDX, JPG, PDF, RCC, ICO, TXT, ODG, GP, PNG and BIN files.
If you want to convert RC file to RB, JS, TS, PY, JAVA, CPP, C, CS, PHP, GO, RS or SWIFT, you can use Microsoft Visual Studio or similar software from the "Windows Resource Compilation" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SH, PY, KT, PS1, SWIFT, LUA, PL, JAVA, SCALA, JS, VBS or TS files to RC, try Microsoft Visual Studio or another comparable tool in the "Windows Resource Compilation" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our RC converter.